Recent Tasting Notes

I can barely taste the rooibos in this blend because of the floral and fruit overtones. I think it contributes significantly to the honey and brown sugar notes, though. Rose petals and lavender are a classic combination-and for good reason. The hibiscus is an odd choice, and although it didn’t ruin the blend, I don’t think it helped either. More dried currents (raisins) and blueberries would have been a better choice for adding those fruity notes. Overall, it is a very good blend and I enjoy drinking it, but the hibiscus is holding it back.

I don’t know why but the entire time I was drinking this one I was filled with a sense of flavour Deja Vu – but I still can’t place exactly what tea it was reminding me of which is , the frustrating part. Honestly though? I thought this was pretty average. It was smooth enough but the two strongest flavours were the rooibos base itself which was very woody and a kind of sub par coconut note. The coconut did taste decently fresh though, but it also reminded me a little bit of my coconut body scrub which is… eh?

The pear/berry/other fruit notes were just so muddled and mild though comparatively! I really, really wish the pear had been more pronounced because I think a pear and coconut combination could have been really lovely but more than anything else I thought this was kind of apple-y tasting, with hints of the kiwi and a very generic/muddled tropical fruit flavour. Nothing even remotely pear like, and that was all kinds of disappointing. If you promise me pear, I fucking want pear.

But yeah – overall it was just mediocre. Drinkable, but nothing exciting at all. I think it falls prey to their just being too many ingredients for it to create any kind of clear, concise flavour profile.

Here we go with Matcha Spirit. I was thinking of making this as a latte before even opening the sealed bag then remembered this had turmeric and other savoury stuff going on so I thought it would be best to try it straight first.

Opening up the bag, whew, that is definitely turmeric. It even smells like a specific kind of ground coriander my family had a long time ago, which had a heavy earthy, lemony scent. The turmeric in here is slightly earthy and bitter with mustard and lemon notes. I can’t even smell the matcha in there, and mushroom powders could possibly be contributing to the earthy undertone, as well. Then the black pepper is super obvious. I also read up on reishi mushrooms and apparently they have a bitter taste to them too so perhaps that bitter aroma is coming from them too.

I frothed up one teaspoon in some slightly cooled hot water. The mushroom aroma comes forth now that it’s blended with water, but the turmeric and black pepper are still the main notes here.

Flavour-wise, it’s very heavy on the turmeric and black pepper. I’m mostly getting bitter earth from the turmeric and reishi, then lemon, with some heat at the back of my mouth from the black pepper. I can’t taste the matcha in here whatsoever. I’m detecting a brothy undertone and that could also be from the reishi.

This definitely isn’t something to be drinking for the flavour, but rather, for its health benefits, primarily, for immune support. Sources suggest trying reishi with honey or almond milk if you can’t get past the bitterness, so maybe next time I make this, I’ll add a bit of honey and see how that goes, and maybe go for that latte sometime.

Sipdown! Again, couldn’t taste any mint from this, and the Ceylon base is missing too. This basically just tastes like cacao shells, which can be a good thing for some people but for me, personally, I got a little tired of the straight up cacao shell flavour. I think I overdid it a few years ago haha.

Perhaps not the best way to try a tea for the first time, but I made this as a latte and added a touch of vanilla extract to my whole milk before frothing. Actually, I did taste this before adding the milk and it was like a standard cacao shell tisane, loaded with cocoa notes, and there was something smooth at the end. A bit vanilla-ish, but I swear I didn’t get any mint from it? I’ll try to pay more attention next time.

Nevertheless, with the added milk, this tasted like creamy cocoa vanilla. Not necessarily like hot chocolate/cocoa. Even with the milk, it has that distinct flavour from cacao shells. They are also so prominent that you wouldn’t even know that there is Ceylon in here.

This reminds me of how I have to retry the Tisano teas I have sitting in my cupboard now that I finally have them back after they were packed away for two years. Funny cacao shell tisanes were the rage a few years ago and I don’t see anyone drinking them anymore?

I’ve been so busy with moving, and although everything isn’t done yet, it’s nice to finally have a day off work to just stay at home, unpack, and detox with some tea. I haven’t been eating the best lately so I’m hoping all these fluids will let me shed some excess water weight and relieve some of the whale-like feelings I’ve been experiencing as of late. Maybe I should try to schedule an appointment with my doctor on a day off too, seeing that it’s been four months since I fainted and fell, and my neck is still sore. Needless to say, I should get that checked out, hey?

I’m so behind on trying teas, seeing that I made this Amoda order quite a while before my more recent teas have arrived, and even then, that was like a month ago. I don’t care that it’s nearly June and already hot in this new apartment, I’m going for Happy Pumpkin because reasons.

First off, this smells like the most realistic pumpkin pie-scented dry leaf to date, beating out, in my opinion, DAVIDsTEA’s Spiced Pumpkin, which to me smells like my German great grandma’s no-bake pumpkin pie with a healthy dollop of whipped cream. This, on the other hand, concentrates more on the spices and pumpkin itself, so more like pumpkin pie filling without the whipped cream. The dry leaf is ultra chunky, loaded with pumpkin pieces, shreds of coconut, whole allspice, orange peel, and the tea leaves themselves are longer and fluff up the dry leaf, as well.

With some whole milk, this is creamy, pumpkiny, and spicy. Very well-balanced. The allspice, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon don’t overpower the other elements, but don’t compete with each other either. I can’t taste the orange rind, but maybe it depends on how much I got in my scoop. I hope Amoda never discontinues this, well, unless I got sick of it. We’ll see if that ever happens.

I got a chance to try this in the December monthly box from Amoda and it was by far my favorite from the bunch. Smells like high-end orange jelly candy, with a citrus fragrance that is specifically mandarin oranges.

The black tea taste is coated in flavors of candied orange, cloves, and spice, there’s even a rich, sweet note of caramel liqueur. Full and decadent without being too heavy or over-flavored, but bolder than your average orange and spice tea. Mandarin Spice is a perfect holiday treat.

Wow, thanks! I’m so glad you liked this one. You picked up on the subtle flavours so well! I’m just getting back on Steepster, so I didn’t get to see this post earlier. We’ll bring it back next holiday season. We’ve already found a local source for the orange peel :)

Preparation

This is my favorite of the bunch, by far. I made this as a latte according to the instructions on the back of the package – 1 tablespoon mocha matcha, 2 ounces water, and 6 ounces milk. It is delicious and tastes like a lightly sweetened hot chocolate. The chocolate is the flavor I taste and smell most of all.

Flavors: Chocolate

Preparation

I ordered Amoda Tea’s matcha tasting set last month and have been working through each one to see which I like best and which I want to order again. We received a sample of their classic matcha in our last subscription box and my husband fell in love. He ordered himself a tin of their ceremonial matcha and I got the sampler to see if I might find one I can love too. Amoda sent an extra large pouch of the classic matcha (Thank you, Tegan!!) so now we have plenty to try. I’m still not quite accustomed to the taste of matcha or to the smell (I’m getting a lot of seaweed), but I’m trying to open my mind to it.

For this blend, I started with this recipe that I found online for a Mocha Maca Matcha – http://mylifecookbook.com/2015/02/15/mocha-maca-matcha/. For two servings, I used my full sample pouch of superfood matcha, two teaspoons of Amoda Tea’s culinary matcha, a half tablespoon of cocoa powder, a mixture of lite coconut milk and water, plus honey to sweeten. I doubled the rest of the recipe and pulsed it in the blender for a few seconds to make a thick and frothy morning drink.

The color is a muddy green, likely due to the turmeric, and it has a bit of spice to it from the cayenne so it’s definitely warming. It was bitter at first but a little extra honey tamed it nicely. I know that since I added the other ingredients it will be hard for me to determine exactly what the matcha blend tastes like, but I think I’m picking up on some of the flavors even after adding to it. I can smell the vanilla and cocoa in the dry blend, for example, and the matcha flavor is definitely there in the finished cup. I’m still not as big a fan as my husband, but I’m getting there.

Flavors: Bitter, Cocoa, Seaweed, Vanilla

Preparation

Thanks for sharing this! I didn’t even know Amoda had matcha! I have found a few good looking recipes on that page, too. I don’t have a blender, so I’m not sure how that would work, as I use an electric whisk/frother to make my matcha. I might have to try that sample kit.

I’m sure the electric frother would work! I think the sampler is definitely the way to go. I used the entire sample of this one, but I have a little left of the others of you would like to try them. I would be glad to send you some!

Take your time. I still need to get to the nanoushan you sent…maybe tomorrow I can make some up in my gaiwan, though my gaiwan is so tiny that it is almost not even worth the trouble sometimes, because it is just a few sips worth, it seems.

oh my goodness! I fell off the Steepster bandwagon and can’t believe I’ve been inactive for so long! I’m just reading this now, but still thankful for the kind words. Have you been experimenting more with matcha? Have you become accustomed to the taste now?

I made this into a smoothie for breakfast this morning. It had oatmeal, milk, matcha, honey, vanilla, coconut milk, banana, and blueberries. With the addition of the oatmeal, this really came off tasting a lot like a cookie. I couldn’t really taste the matcha, though it did turn the smoothie a lovely shade of green. I’m curious – do most people cook with matcha for the flavor, the color, the energy boost, or some mixture of all three? Since I couldn’t really taste it here, perhaps I’ll try adding more next time.

Preparation

Aside from spilling over a quarter of my container of this very expensive matcha and making a huge mess, thereby turning my desk a faint shade of green, this cup is a great success. I mixed 1/2 a cup of water, 1/2 a cup of full-fat coconut milk, and a tablespoon of maple syrup in a mason jar and heated in the microwave until boiling. I then used a couple of teaspoons to make a paste with 1 teaspoon of matcha powder. After mixing, I added the remaining liquid which frothed up beautifully. This was perfectly sweet and the flavor is wonderful – spot-on toasted marshmallow in both the taste and smell. My only complaint would be that even after making a paste with the matcha, it didn’t blend well with the liquid and I still have chunks of it settled in the bottom of my mug.

I was so excited to open my Amoda box this month to see matcha! I’ve been wanting to try it for a while so it’s the first one I tore into. I have to say, it smells much more savory than I expected. It’s almost like seaweed or something you might find on a sushi platter. I pushed ahead though and made the matcha latte posted on Amoda’s website: milk, ice, vanilla, sifted matcha powder, and sugar syrup to sweeten. I accidentally put too much ice in my mason jar so when I shook to mix everything together the matcha mostly just stayed on top or floated around in small clumps. I ended up putting it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the ice melt just a bit then I shook it again, strained out the ice, and stuck it back in the fridge for breakfast the next morning.

And here we are. I did have a couple of sips yesterday and it was very creamy but still quite savory so I’m not sure yet what I think. With the vanilla, it almost reminds me of the smell of tapioca pudding. It’s pretty close actually. The ice watered it down some before I strained which I think I appreciate. It still tastes a little powdery even after shaking, but the website did say that it would only suspend itself in the liquid so I’m guessing it never fully dissolves. I think this is something I could learn to enjoy but I’m not quite there yet.

Preparation

I have to warn everyone in advance that this review is a little biased—I can’t help but compare this to GM’s Coconut Pouchong. It feels like that natural coconut flavor is what the tea is trying for, but it doesn’t quite make it there.

It’s a nice mellow green with some fresh coconut flavor up front, but the aftertaste falls flat for me; it’s like sugared, dry coconut you’d find on a cake or pie instead of the fresh stuff. The taste comes close to GM’s version, but in the end it’s no contest for me. I guess that’s a misleading statement because there’s nothing offensive about this at all and I’ll have no problem getting through it, but it’s definitely not a restock when it’s gone.

I’m not up for anything thick or rich at the moment and thought a herbal tea blend would be great. So through my drawer I route and pull this one out. Not usually a fan of chamomile but love lemongrass and mint and orange so it could go either way. Still I have to try this at some point.

The raw blend consists of large ingredients for the most part with some finely chopped/dust looking herbal pieces too at the bottom.

It smells like sweet orange with a hint of mint. Very citrusy, waxy, sweet and delicious. Totally not what I was expecting but delighted by it.

Once steeped this tea is yellow in colour with fresh and very minty with a hint of lemongrass citrus.

Flavour is strong but smooth and the first flavours I can taste are mint and lemongrass. It has a little sweetness and floralness to it in the after taste. Not as much orange as I was hoping for, like the raw blends smell promised, but non the less it’s a pleasant drink. Very relaxing and calming.

I have another pots worth of this blend that I will save as my bedtime tea. I could do with the help sleeping this week.

Preparation

I really like this tea. The scent of lychee fruit when you open the package and smell the dry leaves is strong and heavenly – just fabulous, and just like lychee fruit.

The Chinese black tea base has a nice mild smokiness. For someone like me, who is still looking for a ‘way in’ to appreciating black teas, this one was nicely smooth and gentle. But what makes it for me is definitely the lychee. Oh, man, the lychee!

I really like that the tea is NOT dicked around with, by the inclusion of other fruit flavours that could/may detract from the lychee. (Can you tell I like lychee?)

Maybe even this tea is a tiny bit bitter for someone like me, who isn’t (yet) a black-tea lover – but next time I will try steeping for 3 or 3.5 minutes, instead of 4.

I had it with a little sugar (less than 1/2 tsp) and a little milk.

Preparation

I am finding that I like honeybush far more than rooibos. This is a really nice tea with excellent apple crumb cake like flavor. Not so sure about the apricot but that is okay this is a nice yummy cup. I would order this to have around for those late night tea cravings when I really should not have more tea.